CAYSA to host 20th edition of fall tournament

Cape Girardeau will be buzzing with young soccer players this weekend.

The Cape Area Youth Soccer Association's 20th annual Fall River Rage Tournament will take place Friday through Sunday at the Shawnee Soccer Complex.

Approximately 1,700 players -- boys and girls -- on 107 teams will participate in age divisions ranging from kindergarten through high school seniors.

Teams will primarily come from the Southeast Missouri region and the St. Louis area, but there will also be squads from surrounding states.

"I have to believe CAYSA has the biggest tournament of any sport in Cape Girardeau, and all in one location," said Mark Caplan of CAYSA. "It brings in a lot of extra business for the area restaurants and motels."

The tournament is limited to recreational soccer players, with no select or traveling teams participating.

Caplan said 193 games will be played on the 12 fields at the Shawnee Soccer Complex.

Action begins at 6:30 p.m. Friday with six games on the three lighted fields. Play resumes at 7 a.m. Saturday, with that day's final games slated to start at 7:30 p.m.

Tournament play begins at 8 a.m. Sunday, with the championship contests starting at about 4:45 p.m.

This is one of two major tournaments CAYSA puts on annually, the other played in the spring and generally featuring anywhere from 80 to 90 teams, according to Caplan.